Went to Cha Am yesterday for a beach lunch, something we have long enjoyed. We always rent a few lounge beds and umbrella's, I get out under the sun to do my boiled lobster impersonation, wife gets under the umbrella complete with large hat, long sleeved shirt, sunnies, and under a towel doing her Dracula impersonation and keeping out of the sun.

Low and behold no deckchairs, lounge beds or umbrella's to be seen. Personally I do think a beach should be au natural the way god intended but some people do have a need for a chair and umbrella. I do agree that Cha Am was overrun with chairs and umbrella's but to remove all is somewhat excessive.

We stopped at our local place and the guy was sitting forlornly under a tree trying to rent out reed mats, very few takers, hardly anyone on the extensive beach with just a few Thais under the trees. Our friend said all the businesses are ruined as the Thais do not spend money and bring everything with them (just leaving empty bottles and bags when the go), Farangs spend money but now do not come as nowhere to relax. Cha Am was largely deserted.

isn't this all going too far?

"Live everyday as if it were your last because someday you're going to be right." Muhammad Ali

This 'beach cleaning' every Wednesday..how many other places lose out on trade 1 day/week for this to take place?
As the OP mentioned..alas no cleaning in progress all the time he was there..
When I 1st came to H.H. there was a tractor pulling a machine to pick up litter going up & down the beach on a regular basis..litter bins were all the way along..everyday a pick-up with oversize tyres would do it's rounds emptying the bins..
..no need to close all the beaches..

I used to live in Melbourne and one very popular beach was cleaned with a professional beach cleaning machine and complete by 4am each morning. This was implemented after a competitor in a triathlon received a jab from a discarded syringe. Why on earth an entire 5km stretch of beach should be closed and all facilities removed to do it is beyond me.

But then again this is Ting Tong land

"Live everyday as if it were your last because someday you're going to be right." Muhammad Ali